Top european bank's managing director visits south Moldova Giurgiulesti port

Chisinau, 4 October /MOLDPRES/ - Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus (EEC) at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Matteo Patrone today paid a visit to the Giurgiulesti Free International Port, the only see and river port of Moldova.  

Matteo Patrone, who visits Moldova to meet the new government and private companies, stressed the importance of the single Moldova’s international port for commerce and economy.  

"EBRD backed the construction and exploitation of the Giurgiulesti port in 1995. We actively work to promote the continuity of the successful work and development of this key infrastructure asset and we will try to attract international investors and develop the port in continuation,’’ Patrone said.

For his part, Director General of Danube Logistics Ltd Mathias von Tucher said that, after a difficult year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, ‘’a year when we also had a bad harvest, we expect the volumes of trans-shipped goods to increase to more than one million tons in 2021 – from 934,000 tons in 2020.’’ ‘’Besides, in 2022, we are set to start the construction of a new berth, which is to allow trans-shipping solid goods in bulk and general goods, in order to extend the capacity,’’ Mathias von Tucher added.     

The Giurgiulesti Free International Port hosts 48 resident companies, employs 517 people and serves the commerce with over 50 countries. The port serves for the export of cereals and vegetable oil, as well as for the import of fuel, construction materials and general goods.

EBRD bought 100 per cent of the shares of Danube Logistics Ltd on 7 May 2021. The bank is an important institutional investor in Moldova and has invested 1.4 billion euros in the country with 146 projects so far. The bank also provided services of consultancy to more than 1,000 companies from Moldova, to help them improve their performance.    

Photo: EBRD